


Birth and Rebirth

by heartsdesire456



Series: Reverse and Rebirth [2]
Category: X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mpreg, Parenthood, Post-X-Men: Days of Future Past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-29 20:55:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5142170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles is once again pregnant when an old friend comes to visit and reveals something none of them knew about.</p><p>Or three somethings.</p><p>... rather some<i>ones</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birth and Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being a very much longer and more plotty fic than I ever meant for it to be. I basically just wanted to have more fun with the 'mutant sperm' joke and... I ended up making an actual STORY.

Charles was sitting on the floor in front of a foot tub, giving Ada her bath, the first time he felt a wave of inexplicable nausea. He kept it together and finished bathing her, but almost as soon as Erik came in to dry her off and dress her, Charles vomited right in the dirty bathwater.

Erik had fussed over him as soon as he lay Ada in her crib, rushing over to pick Charles up and set him on the bed, bringing him a wastebasket just in case before rushing off to find Hank. 

At first, Charles’s only thought was about how the food he ate might have been off, since he’d scavenged the pantry for something to snack on while Erik and Raven took Ada to her check up at the pediatrician in town. She was just past five months old and already she could sit and was becoming quite fond of scooting backwards on the non-carpeted floors of the house whenever anybody set her down. He knew it was only a matter of time before she could crawl. 

It was only the second time it happened, or rather the second, third, and fourth times, all the following day, that Charles was hit with a thought he had never actually entertained before.

Hank was able to confirm this suspicions quite quickly when he sought him out. 

~

Charles wanted to speak to Erik in private before Hank told anybody, so he waited until Erik had put Ada down for her nap to go find him. He found Erik standing beside her crib, smiling faintly as he watched her sleeping. Charles was hit once more with a wave of crazy affection and love for the man before him. In the past year, they had settled more uncertainty that should ever be possible after their decade-long, tumultuous relationship. He would be forever grateful that he had Erik.

Even now.

“Erik, darling, can we talk?” Charles whispered, and Erik turned and nodded. Charles wheeled out of the nursery and into their bedroom. He went to the table by the window and Erik followed, sitting casually. 

“What’s wrong?” Erik asked, searching his face. “You look a bit nervous.”

Charles chuckled, biting his lip as he folded his hand together in his lap. “Well, there’s no way to gently break this to you, so I’m going to just say it.” Erik tensed for a moment, and Charles spoke fast to stop the way Erik’s mind was clearly running away. “I’m pregnant.”

Erik actually recoiled slightly. “What? You are not,” he said quickly, and Charles nodded with a small, nervous smile. Erik opened and closed his mouth a few times. “But… scheisse,” he groaned, head dropping back. Charles’s heart drooped a little. He had known Erik might not react well but he had hoped-“How on earth are we going to juggle with two infants at once?” he groaned. He looked at Charles. “And you! Very soon you’re going to be entirely unable to do much at all besides be ill and unhappy. Even before the baby comes, I’m going to have to try to work out how to care for Ada and you all the while you hate me for putting you through such pains.” He reached out, clasping Charles’s hand. “Liebling, I apologize ahead of time for all the puking.”

Charles chuckled. “So… that’s you’re only reaction? Worrying about how we can handle it? Not… you’re not upset-“

Erik gave him an incredulous look. “Upset at having another child? Of course not, don’t be ridiculous.” He leaned out and cupped Charles’s face in his hand, smiling eagerly. “I love you and I love our daughter, Charles. Why would I not welcome another child? It’s just a bit unlucky it had to happen so soon after Ada. It will be quite the adventure dealing with two small children at once.”

Charles rolled his eyes “I should have known better than to ever doubt you, my friend.” He leaned forward and kissed Erik sweetly. “The others will be very shocked,” he muttered and Erik chuckled.

“Shall we tell them then?” Erik asked and Charles shook his head.

“Not just yet,” he muttered, pulling Erik into another kiss. “We should celebrate before I have to puke again or Ada wakes up,” Charles whispered against his lips.

Erik laughed, giving him a look. “This is how we ended up in this situation,” he teased and Charles smirked. 

“Like you’re complaining,” he said, and Erik gave him a predatory grin.

“Not in the least,” he positively purred, meeting Charles’s lips once more as Charles slid his hand to Erik’s thigh, making it clear he wasn’t joking. “Bed?” Erik asked and Charles chortled.

“Bed.”

~

Charles waited until everyone had gathered and were sitting at the table for dinner, before smiling at Erik as he fed Ada and then putting down his fork and knife. “Raven, Alex, Scott,” he started, smiling down the table. “Erik and I have something to share with you all.” Erik looked up and grinned, only to be distracted once more as Ada swatted the spoon with baby food on it out of his hand. Hank gave him a small smile and Charles gave him a grateful nod. He met Raven’s eyes as he said, “We’re having another baby.”

Her golden eyes flew wide. “WHAT?!”

Charles nodded. “Yes, Hank confirmed it for me today. I’m about two months along, we gather.”

Raven raised an eyebrow. “Ada is only five months old and you’re pregnant again already? Do you get pregnant every time you two-“

“Raven,” Hank interrupted, nodding to Scott before she could curse.

She gave him a dramatic eye roll then turned to Charles who hummed, rubbing at his chin. “Actually…” He glanced at Erik. “You know, it’s actually entirely possible I became pregnant this time the very first time after Ada was born,” he said. “And it’s very likely the first time was our first time as well, since I was three months along when we parted ways,” he mused.

Erik gave him an alarmed look. “And we know for sure when Ada was conceived.”

Charles gave him a look. “You may very well be the most fertile man alive, we really should make sure you don’t have more children out there in the world,” he teased and Erik rolled his eyes.

“Charles-“

“Darling, it’s very possible that we have procreated every single time we were together and I wasn’t already pregnant, that’s very odd,” he pointed out. “That says frightening things about our future. I’m not exactly in my twenties and you’re older than me. I’m fairly certain forty children would be a bad thing.”

Hank rolled his eyes. “Condoms exist, Charles.”

Charles tutted. “Oh but who uses condoms anymore, Hank, honestly.”

“People who get pregnant every time they glance across the room should probably consider it in the future,” Hank countered and Alex choked on his water.

Alex gave Erik a leer. “I think it’s more the guy that gets someone pregnant every time he glances across the room, since Charles clearly didn’t get knocked up by anybody else.”

Erik hummed, not bothering to look up from where he was still feeding Ada. “I’m not even sure I know what they look like,” he pondered. “They weren’t available or legal in much of Europe and I had never come to America before the trip that led to meeting Charles.” He shook his head. “Only even know what they are from adverts.”

Charles grinned. “Clearly you and I are just very genetically compatible, or else you or I one would have a dozen children by now, Darling.”

“Oh if I was a bit younger I wouldn’t be too bothered by that,” Erik joked.

Charles harrumphed. “I am forty-two years old, Love, a dozen children is not even an option.”

~

It was entirely possible Charles was even more ill this time than with Ada. More than a few nights found Erik and Hank both sitting in with Charles in a downstairs room while he rested fitfully with an IV in to keep him hydrated. Erik was glad the others were able to handle Ada in turns, because he couldn’t imagine leaving Charles’s side when he lay in a bed with needles in his skin and cold sweat on his brow. 

Even when he wasn’t in bed needing fluids, he was constantly ill. One night, Charles slept on the bathroom floor, he was vomiting so often, and when Erik woke up in the morning, Charles sat fully clothed under the shower, wheelchair abandoned, crying under the cool water that was about the only thing to calm his stomach. Erik had called on Raven to take Ada for the morning and he had carried Charles over to the large, claw-foot tub, stripped him carefully, and held him in his arms as he settled into the bath himself, rocking Charles while the steaming water soothed him to sleep. Erik spent as much time as he could constantly draining some water and adding warm to keep the water from going cold while Charles found some relief. 

After those dreaded few months where Charles was ill beyond any imagination, everything became much easier. Ada was just beginning to stand on her own (and take a few curious attempts at steps while hanging onto the furniture) when Charles began to grow round. Erik knew it was likely the end of the illness that made him so, but Erik couldn’t remember Charles ever being as beautiful as he was when he let Ada pat curiously at his round belly and squeal when the baby inside of him prodded back at her little hand. She was far too small to understand any of it, she had only just started to say ‘pa’ and ‘da’ in her attempts at speech, but she found it fun all the same. 

And every time Ada interacted with their unborn child, Charles’s giant, delighted smile was enough to make Erik wonder how he had ever imagined any life without this.

~

Charles was heavily pregnant when, early one morning, someone showed up at the door and Charles dropped his spoon into his bowl of oatmeal, going pale. “Someone get the door,” he said just before the knocking could begin frantically. 

Within the blink of an eye, Erik startled when the young man who had helped Charles break him out of the Pentagon was standing beside Charles, soaking wet, looking frantic. “Charles! Oh man, I really need your help and you said if I ever needed anything I could call you no matter what but it was faster to just come here and-“

“Peter, Peter!” Charles cut him off. “I’m aware speed is your norm, but if you could slow down and explain-“

“They got my sister!” he blurted out. “No the little human one, my twin sister, did you meet her? I have a twin sister, Wanda.”

Charles shushed him. “Peter, who has her?”

Erik heard those who had gone to the door running back but he just shushed them with a look when they ran in to see their ‘guest’ already talking to Charles. 

Peter shook his head. “I don’t know. A man with a really big prison thing for mutants.” He looked over at Erik and, without preamble, spoke. “Look, there’s no time to sugar coat it, you’re our father, mine and Wanda’s, not my baby sister, the human one, and Wanda had a dream that we had another sister, an older sister, and she was so convinced it was real that went to find her and I couldn’t stop her but they caught her and I tried to bust her out but I can’t, so you have to help!” He looked at Charles. “Both of you, you have to help.”

Erik and Charles both were gaping at him in shock. “Did- did you just-“

Charles looked at Erik, eyebrow raised. “You really are the most fertile man alive, I presume,” he said with a bit of a snip in his voice. He turned back to Peter. “How do you know Erik is your father?”

Peter cringed. “Uh, I sorta worked it out when we busted him out of the pentagon. My mom had told me and my sister that our father’s mutation was manipulation of metal and he’s the only one I’ve ever heard of. I wasn’t sure until the older sister Wanda dreamed about has the same powers he does, only more of it and I asked my mom what our father’s name is and she said Magnus Lehnsherr.” He looked at Erik. “Assumed name?”

Erik just stared. “Middle name, actually.” He shook his head. “Magda Maximoff. I really hoped it was a coincidence when you said that about your mother that day. I didn’t actually think-“

“Mom’s name is Margaret,” Peter said with a frown.

Erik chuckled. “I knew her as Magda.” He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “The older sister, do you know what she’s called?” he asked, but Peter shook his head.

Ada slapping at her baby food and giggling when it went flying broke the silence and Charles cleared his throat, gesturing to the ones gathered just inside the kitchen to come get Ada, but Peter seemed to suddenly notice her. “Whoa, what the hell, that wasn’t there before!”

Erik looked at Charles and he shrugged. “I projected it. He sees me sitting in a normal chair and… thin, currently.”

Peter blinked and looked at him curiously. “Wait… what do you mean- are you making me see things differently?!”

Charles chortled. “Trust me, it’s a far longer story than you should probably be subject to at the moment. You’ve had a hard enough day without a bigger shock.”

Peter looked at Ada then at Charles and his face went flat. “Lemme guess. Captain Magnet’s spawn?” he asked, then glanced at Erik. “Seriously, how many bastard children do you _have_?”

Erik startled, looking up suddenly with a level of paleness Charles had never seen on him before. “You- you’re not a bastard,” he said in a strangled tone. “I was married to Magda.” He looked at Charles with wide eyes. “I guess if she’s not dead like I feared I’m- I’m still married to Magda.”

Peter hummed. “That probably means that, if the records were still around, my step-dad’s marriage to my mom isn’t valid so it’s my baby sister that’s the bastard child.” He shrugged. “Anyways, who’s this little cutie’s mom?” he asked, looking around to land on Raven, who scoffed.

“Ew, kid.”

Charles put a hand to his cheek, biting back amusement. “Maybe another time, Peter.” He nodded to Erik. “Come with us to my study and we can see what we can figure out about your sister.”

~

Charles had projected himself walking to keep from having to explain it all to Peter while he needed to stay focused. He had trouble staying on a single subject, Charles had noticed, so he figured the best thing was to keep things simple and take him from distractions.

Peter sat down and Charles came to a stop beside Erik, tugging him down into the seat. He curled his fingers through Erik’s, raising their laced fingers to his lips to kiss Erik’s hand comfortingly. Erik gave him an alarmed look and nodded at Peter, and Charles just shook his head and mouthed, _can’t see_ at him. 

“Peter, could you explain what you know?” he asked gently.

Peter took a breath. “Wanda was so convinced we really do have an older sister that she went to find her, and I followed her a few days later, and I found out they’d caught her. So I tried to break in, but they almost got me instead.”

“How?” Erik asked. “You’re so fast, how could they possibly get you?”

Peter flinched. “There was this… force field? Or something. It stopped me from going fast. I couldn’t do anything fast. It felt like I didn’t even have my power.”

Erik looked at Charles, who worried his lip. “It- it may be possible someone has developed some sort of- of dampener for mutations. I don’t know how but it’s not crazy to think we may have a problem.” He looked at Peter. “Do you remember where this facility is?” he asked, and Peter nodded.

“Yeah, I ran all the way here from there, I was so scared,” he admitted. “I can’t give you an address or coordinates or anything, but I can find it on a map.”

Charles nodded. “Then that is where we will start.” He squeezed Erik’s hand. “Erik, can you gather the others please? You can leave Ada with Scott for the time being.”

Erik nodded. “Of course.” He stood and left.

Charles turned to Peter. “Peter, I need you to do me a favor.” He waited and Charles smiled. “Go down to the kitchen, eat anything you like from in there, and then go to the second room from the kitchen door and have a long nap.”

“But I-“

Charles held up a hand. “No, Peter. You need to eat and rest. You must be exhausted. We cannot trust your map skills if you are bordering on delirium. I’ll wake you when it is time for lunch and then we shall let you show us where the facility is. Deal?”

Peter sighed, but nodded. “Fine, fine. Deal.”

“Good,” Charles said, nodding to the door. “Run along, then.”

Only moments after Peter left, Erik and the others filed in. Charles expected a lot of questions, but everybody seemed to prefer to anxiously await his word. He looked at Erik, who was standing by the fireplace with his arms wrapped around himself, clearly lost in his thoughts. “Darling, are you alright?” Charles asked softly and Erik grunted but made no attempt to say anything else. He sighed and turned to the others. “We have a potentially major problem.”

Raven walked over to sit on the couch beside Charles’s chair, reaching out to grab his hand. “What’s happened?”

“It seems someone has found a way to cause mutants powers to be dampened without any sort of serum like what I was using,” he said, looking around. “Peter says when he tried to break into whatever facility is holding his sister, and whenever he came close to getting inside, he found himself unable to do anything as fast as his usual speed.” He shook his head, brow furrowed. “This is so very alarming. If there is a way to block mutants from using their powers, should it fall into the wrong hands, we’d all be thoroughly fucked,” he said bluntly. 

Alex glanced at Erik, who was still staring off into the fire, then turned back to Charles. “Is he really Erik’s kid?” he asked curiously.

Charles could feel a surge of emotion, somewhere between fear and hurt, from Erik at the question. He sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “Probably. If Erik’s wife is Peter and his sister’s mother, it’s more likely than not.” He sighed. “As for the potential other child, there’s really no telling. Peter’s sister isn’t telepathic or psychic, or else I’d have sensed her when we were at his house because I know she was there in the house. She could have had a dream that was real, could have had a nightmare, or they could have used a mutant who can alter dreams to lure her to that facility. At this point, there is no telling.”

“Either way, we’re gonna save the girl, right?” Hank asked, looking between Charles and Erik.

Charles nodded. “Of course. Peter is going to eat and then rest and then tell us exactly where this facility is.” He gave them all a worried look. “The problem is, if you can’t disable the power blocker, none of you can use your powers and I cannot possibly come with you as far along as I am,” he said, rubbing at his belly. He hummed. “Maybe with Cerebro-“

“Out of the question,” Erik said, speaking up for the first time so far. He walked over to Charles, giving him a glare. “You should not risk Cerebro this late in your pregnancy, and definitely not while we’re not around. If something happened-“

“No, no,” Charles sighed, reaching out to grasp Erik’s hand. “You’re right as usual, My Friend.” He smiled up at him. “I don’t want to risk anything going wrong.”

Erik squeezed his hand tighter. “We’ll work on a plan after the boy wakes up and is ready to tell us where we’re going.” He let go of Charles’s hand and left without another word.

~

When Charles found Erik later, he was lying on the bed with Ada asleep beside him. Charles came over and shifted himself onto the bed, smiling as he, too, laid down and pressed a kiss to Ada’s head, smiling at the gingery tint of her little wavy curls that made her look all the more like Erik. Erik was gazing down at her with such a look in his eyes Charles reached out to cup his face rather than Ada. _How are you, Darling?_.

Erik sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into Charles’s touch. “How could I possibly have _three_ grown up children that I never knew about?” he asked in a weak whisper.

Charles smiled playfully. “Because your secondary mutation seems to be impregnation,” he teased and Erik made a face but smiled in spite of himself. “Honestly, Erik, it isn’t your fault-“

“If that oldest one really exists, she must’ve been conceived when I was very young, Charles.” He shook his head. “Not long after the war, I imagine.”

Charles chuckled. “Trust me, Love, I’m the last to judge. I spent my entire twenties trying to sleep with every girl I came across. It’s only sheer luck and my own failure at chatting up girls that I didn’t reproduce before you knocked me up,” he teased. He stroked a fingertip along the edge of Erik’s jaw. “You love children, Erik, so I understand how upset you are you have children who never knew you. And I am so sorry you didn’t get to know them.”

Erik shook his head sadly. “I was never a good role model. I’m still not. It’s only Ada and you that keep me in check sometimes.” He gave Charles a guilty look. “I still feel so certain that there is no peace to be had, Charles. This new potential for a dampener for our powers… it only makes me more certain we are going to either be wiped out or we’re going to have to become the majority.”

Charles sighed. “Erik-“

“No, I know, I know.” He moved his hand from Ada to Charles’s belly and smiled as he looked at the swell under his hand. “I always remember that both Ada and this child could be human. It’s the way I try to force myself to stop seeing them as inferior and try to remember they are all people, both good and bad.” He shrugged. “It’s just very hard when something like this happens.”

Charles cooed softly. “Oh I know, Love.” He grabbed Erik’s hand and moved it to the side of his belly where the baby was moving, watching the love in Erik’s eyes overtake the darkness there. “You constantly amaze me, Erik. I know how hard it is for you to see the good in the world when there is so much bad. Even I fall into that way of thinking quite often. After the life you’ve lived, I am so proud of you for having it in you to even find something to encourage you.”

Erik sighed, nodding. “It is difficult, but it is not too hard when I am happier than I ever thought I could be. You, Charles. You’ve given me the life I couldn’t have even dreamed of.” He closed his eyes, not even daring speak out loud for the next part. _I’m so frightened that this could upset the life we have achieved._

Charles nodded. “I understand.” He squeezed the hand on his belly. “But, while of course you are the father of my children to me, you are also his father, Erik. And his sister’s. And possibly another young lady.” He smiled when Erik opened his eyes, looking a bit ill. “I know it’s frightening. But Peter is a good boy. Mischievous, but good. He doesn’t seem to have any blame or anger towards you, he just wants your help saving his sister.”

Erik swallowed and nodded. “He’s just as much my son as Ada is my daughter, even if I haven’t been his father. I owe it to them to be there for them now, when I have the chance.”

“And being there for them does not make you any less Ada’s father,” Charles reassured. “Or any less this baby’s father,” he said, and Erik’s smile brightened as his eyes flickered back to Charles’s middle. Charles chuckled. “God, can you have imagined us in this position two years ago? You were in a cell beneath the pentagon and I was stoned out of my mind, drunk on top of that, bitter at the world, and hated myself almost as much as I hated you every goddamn time I was reminded of you. And now you smile like that when you think about the baby you put inside of me,” he said in a soft tone.

Erik smiled sadly. “I never managed to convince myself I hated you. That’s the difference. Every time I thought of you, I just missed you and felt guilty for leaving you.”

Charles grinned. “See? You are the better man than me in some ways.” He leaned up on one elbow, careful of Ada as he leaned over and kissed Erik gently. “Your children don’t make you less of a good father, Erik. You had no choice in the matter and the one you have had the choice of, you’ve been the best father ever to.”

Erik looked at him hopefully. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Charles whispered, pecking his lips once more before settling down beside Ada, curling a hand around her side to hold her close while Erik leaned their heads together above Ada, his hand on Charles’s belly again as they settled in to simply enjoy being while they still had a moment of peace before things were changed forever.

~

When Peter gave them the directions they needed, Erik stood tall and turned to Raven. “You go. Get as close as you can and see what’s going on. We will join you tomorrow night. _Do not_ engage or try to get inside,” he stressed.

Charles nodded. “She is your best bet, though. She’s got about the best fighting skills without powers out of all of you.” Erik gave him a raised eyebrow and Charles rolled his eyes. “Erik, _I_ was able to bust your lip and I hit about as hard as a kitten.” He looked at Hank. “You’re still pretty strong even without your mutation, as are you, Alex. You should be able to get in and out without powers. However, I’d feel safer if at least one of you had a gun.” He cringed. “I detest weapons, but you need them.”

Peter looked at Charles. “What about you? You’re not coming? You could be the gunman even without your powers.”

Charles startled. “Oh. Oh I forgot I was still altering what you saw.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “You _forgot_? Jesus, are you getting more powerful?” she teased.

Peter frowned. “Wait, what am I not seeing?”

Charles bit his lip, looking down at his belly. “Peter… this might be quite difficult to explain-“

Erik gave him an alarmed look. “Can’t you just show him your chair-“

“He has to see it all eventually,” Charles said simply. He looked at Peter closely. “Look. It’s… it’s quite a lot to understand but… Ada is mine,” he said, and Peter frowned.

“Thought you said she was Erik’s?”

Raven snickered. “He did.”

Peter looked at Charles with a raised eyebrow. “What do you-“ Charles raised his fingers to the side of his head and immediately Peter’s eyes widened. “HOLY SHIT!” He pointed at Charles’s belly then looked around. “Am I the only one-“

“Trust me, we’re all well used to it now. It was odd at first. But Ada made it less odd,” Hank said, and Alex snickered.

“It’s still weird as hell,” he argued.

Peter gestured between Erik and Charles. “So that- you and- and _babies_?!” he asked, eyes going wide as he stared at the wall ahead of him. “Ew, man. Very, very ew. How does the baby even-“

Charles cleared his throat. “Peter,” he said sternly and Peter stopped rambling. “Cesarean delivery, if you must know,” he said simply. “And if you have a problem, please do keep it to yourself, young man, until we’ve collected your sister and you’re on your way,” he added more coldly.

Peter held up his hands. “Hey, I’m a klepto, who am I to judge and all that shit.” He looked at his belly. “Just… you’re a _dude_ ,” he said with a grimace.

Charles gave him an unimpressed look. “Oh? Really? I hadn’t noticed.” He put a hand on his belly. “Either way, I cannot risk myself for the sake of the baby. I shall have to remain here and just hope that you all are able to get in, gather the girls, and get out.” He looked around at them. “And if you get killed, I’ll never forgive you all for leaving me alone with Scott and Ada and no help,” he warned. His gaze landed on Erik. “Especially you with your mutant sperm,” he accused and Erik rolled his eyes while Hank snorted.

“Definitely his secondary mutation,” Hank agreed. “Extreme fertility.”

Erik chuckled and shrugged. “Just doing my part to rebuild the population of my people after the Shoah, apparently,” he joked, keeping a straight face that made Charles bite his lip to not snort loudly.

Raven nodded. “Yeah, and if you two were just a little younger, I don’t doubt you could double the Jewish population in America on your own,” she agreed, punching Erik in the arm on the way past. “But really, you’re getting old, Erik. You don’t need more than five kids,” she said and he grimaced comically. 

“Suddenly I’ve gone from one daughter and an unborn child to having three daughters, a son, and an unborn child. You shouldn’t laugh at my traumatic morning,” he said and she just grinned.

“Stop knocking up my brother, then,” she said and Charles huffed.

“Oh honestly, it’s only a few times,” he muttered and Raven scoffed.

Peter sighed, shaking his head. “If this, this group of people, is the only hope for my sister, she’s doomed, man.”

~

Before they were even meant to arrive at the facility, Raven called them from a payphone in the nearest town to report that the base was under attack seemingly from the inside. Peter immediately began to throw what Charles could only describe as a tantrum and demand they go there now because it was his sister and he knew she needed him. Charles could understand what caused his reaction to be so extreme, for he could remember how close he and Raven were at that age and they were not twins, but he had to advise that they wait and see what happened.

Peter did not like the thought of waiting, but he was bright enough to realize that running off on his own would not do any good.

When they all left, Charles bid them all farewell with a warning to be careful, but it turned out it was not needed. By the time they arrived to the facility, all of the personnel – unfortunately this included the monster who was capturing mutants – had been chased away by whatever happened inside.

Erik had taken his long abandoned helmet just in case there was a telepath at the facility with designs against strangers, and he was grateful for this fact when, as soon as they waded through the rubble of a nearly collapsed wing of the building, strewn with nearly half a dozen bodies of people in lab coats, they came upon a cage that had withstood the collapse of the building. In that cage, there were four occupants, and the only one who was conscious was a little girl who startled when she saw them and, though Erik didn’t know what she was doing, all the others around him began to scream in pain and collapse one by one.

It went against every instinct Erik had to harm a frightened mutant child, but for the sake of them all, he opened the bars, walked into the cage, and hit the girl to knock her out. The others managed to recover and Peter immediately ran to the side of a thin girl with long, red hair, scooping her up. “Wanda? Oh God, what did she do to them?” he asked, looking at the little girl that Erik had lifted into his arms, hand stemming the unfortunate flow of blood from the cut he’d given her. He shook his sister again, and she groaned this time.

“Peter,” she mumbled, and as she slowly blinked her eyes open, it finally hit Erik that that girl was _his_.

Alex rushed over some of the rubble to go to Peter’s sister and Raven and Hank both rushed over to the other two. There was a young woman and a small child, no older than four or five, Erik was sure, both of whom were unconscious in the corner of the cage, though the woman had clearly been trying to shield the child when they were knocked out. Erik headed over to them, still carrying the girl in his arms, and his heart stuttered when he saw them turn the young woman on her back.

That was the one Peter’s sister claimed to dream about. 

Hank looked around. “They’re all alive, they all seem to be mostly okay. We should be safe to move them,” he told Erik, who nodded.

“We would be better to get back home before unwanted attention comes snooping,” he said, immediately turning to leave, still carrying the child he’d injured in his arms.

~

Charles was very relieved to feel the others coming home without any minds missing. However, the void he knew was Erik’s helmet was not on Erik, though it was on someone. There were three new minds and the void so he knew they had found survivors. He looked down at Ada, who was sitting on the floor playing with soft blocks, and rubbed at his belly, where the baby was moving around. “Everyone is accounted for, my darlings,” he said, and then checked on Scott, just to be sure, and was happy to find him reading in the library – his favorite pastime now that he could see again with the goggles Hank had made him.

Speaking of Hank, Charles reached out with his mind once he felt them all coming into the house. _Who are all the new people?_

_Mutants._

Hank needn’t say any more for Charles to understand. _Send Raven to come look after Ada so I can come,_ Charles relayed to Hank. He needed to go meet the newcomers and discover what all had happened.

~

When Charles rolled into the infirmary, he was startled to see that Erik’s old damned helmet was firmly on the head of a small girl, who was also restrained to her cot. “What on earth?” he asked as he came closer, and Erik turned to him with a grave look even though his eyes shone with hope.

“She’s a telepath of some sort and extremely strong and untrained,” he said simply. “I was wearing the helmet just in case and I was the only one who did not fall to the ground, writhing in pain.”

Hank shuddered. “It was like needles being stabbed into my brain,” he said and Charles looked at her worriedly.

“Did she overtax herself?” he asked with sympathy and Erik flinched.

“I- I hit her in the head,” Erik admitted, looking sick at his actions. “She could’ve killed them, I had to make her stop-“

Charles took his hand. “Oh, My Friend, nobody blames you for that. I’m so sorry you had to hurt her, but once she learns you all were not a threat, I’m sure she will be glad you stopped her from hurting them.” He turned to the others and rolled their way. “And what of the others?”

Hank cleared his throat, gesturing to where Peter was sitting on the edge of a cot that held the only conscious one of them all. “You must be Wanda,” Charles said, introducing himself as he drew nearer. “Hello. I’m Charles. Charles Xavier.”

She blinked at him and then turned to hide her face in Peter’s hair. He winced and hugged her close, rubbing her back gently as he held her. “It’s okay, Charles is a great guy, I promise.”

Charles gently reached out to touch her mind, only go gasp when he saw everything near the surface, which was mostly the things they made her do to the children and to the young woman. He shuddered as he withdrew, earning a worried look from Peter. “I fear she has had quite the shock, Peter. Just stay with her and comfort her,” he suggested. He moved away, wanting to give her time to calm before she had to speak to anyone. He saw the fourth person they’d brought back was a small girl with a shock of white hair. He moved closer and glanced up at Hank. “Hank?”

Hank shrugged. “She’s stable. She seems alright. Just hasn’t woken up yet. We figure the telepath did something in a panic that knocked them all out when the building collapsed for whatever reason.”

Charles started to ask more questions but before he could speak, there was a clatter from across the room and they all turned to see the young woman with the vibrant green hair had woken up and violently pitched herself off her cot. She was backed into the corner, eyes full of fear and defensive rage. The look in her eyes was shockingly familiar, Charles realized, as the same one he’d seen on Erik years ago when he fished him out of the ocean the night they met. He started to speak and suggest that Wanda’s dream may not have been incorrect, but before he could open his mouth, she once again interrupted by snarling and throwing her hand out.

Charles gasped in fear when every metal medical instrument in the room, from scalpels and scissors to the trays they belong to, flew across the room, ripped from their drawers and cupboards. “Erik!” he cried, and Erik threw himself in front of Charles and raised both hands, catching every instrument she’d thrown before they could cross the room more than halfway. She gasped, cowering back against the wall behind her as she saw her attack blocked.

Erik twisted his hand an all the instruments came together into one mass and he dropped it into a bin near the door, eyes wide as he looked at her. Hank pushed his glasses up his nose and whistled. “Guess there’s no need to do a paternity test, huh?”

She looked around, shaking fearfully. “Who are you people?” she demanded.

Charles gently nudged Erik with his mind and Erik stepped aside, allowing him to roll forward. Charles was careful to keep his form projected as not pregnant, but he found no need to feign walking for the new ones amongst them like he had Peter. “Hello. My name is Charles Xavier. You are safe here,” he said, subtly moving his fingers to his temple. He tilted his head. “Lorna, is it?”

She startled. “How do you know my name? They didn’t- they didn’t-“

Charles smiled warmly. _You are aware by now you are among other mutants, yes?_ he projected to her, and she gasped and shuddered.

“Who are you,” she demanded, looking around at them. Her eyes landed on Wanda and the bared her teeth. “You!” she cried, raising hand again, but Erik stopped the table from flipping before she could do more than rattle it. She growled at Erik. “How are you doing that?!”

He gestured to the bracelet on her wrist, raising her hand as she gasped. “I am like you,” he said roughly, swallowing hard. “You have- you have my gift.”

She cried out in rage. “SHE MADE ME SEE THINGS!” she shouted, her husky voice booming loud through the room. “She- she made me see-“

“They forced her,” Charles explained calmly. “Lorna, none of us here will hurt you. She harmed you only because she was forced.”

“She made the building fall on us-“

“I didn’t!” Wanda cried, sobbing as Peter clung to her. “I didn’t do that, I didn’t!”

Charles held up a hand, silencing them both. They both opened their mouths and gave him betrayed looks when no sound came out. “You were both prisoners of another, should you not assume none of you had any choice more than the rest?” he pointed out gently. “The four of you, you were all held prisoner together, yes? Doesn’t it make sense that you were all on the same side?”

“She came to save you,” Peter said, standing up from the bed to stand in front of Wanda, glaring at the other woman. “She only got caught because she wanted to save you, and you tried to throw a table at her?!” he demanded angrily.

Charles gave him a warning look. “Peter-“

“No!” Peter argued, walking over until Erik put out an arm, stopping him from going closer. He pointed at Lorna. “I don’t care who you are, I don’t care if you’re a mutant, I don’t care if you’re my sister, I don’t _care_ because Wanda got caught trying to help you because she dreamed we had a sister and wanted to find her and save her, and you think it’s her _fault_?”

“Enough!” Charles snapped finally, glaring at Peter. “Stop behaving so rashly,” he said, looking at Lorna. “I know you are scared, and I know you are very confused. But nobody here is going to hurt you. We are not a threat. We are here to provide a safe haven for mutants, we would never harm you without good reason.” He narrowed his eyes. “But if you continue to try to throw objects at us, I will be forced to control your mind, and I do not want to do that. I hate taking someone’s control away from them, but if you force my hand, I will.”

Lorna settled with a grumble but looked at Peter with fire in her eyes. “I am not your sister.”

Peter cocked an eyebrow. “Actually, I doubted it at first, but after that little display, it seems almost certain,” he said and Charles sighed.

“Peter, perhaps this can wait, no reason to continue to upset her,” he hinted.

Lorna growled. “What is he talking about?” she demanded, coming towards Charles again, only to have Erik catch her bracelet again, holding her back away from him. “Tell me!” she demanded, struggling.

Charles sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine. Lorna, Peter, Wanda.” He looked over to Wanda. “Can the three of you come with me, please?” he asked.

“I’m not going anywhere-“ Charles cut Lorna off with a pointed look.

“If you do not come, I will make you,” he warned. “I won’t like it, but I will do it.”

Charles turned to roll away, trusting that they would follow.

~

Erik stood behind Charles, watching over him as the young woman and the teens all took spots in his office. Peter and Wanda sat on the sofa while Lorna stood by the window, fidgeting as she stood uncomfortably.

Charles looked at Wanda. “Wanda, are you alright?” he asked to start, and she nodded, still clinging to her brother. He looked at Peter. “Does she know…”

Peter nodded and Wanda’s eyes flickered to Erik, looking curious and fearful all the same. “Yeah, yeah we both know.”

Charles reached out with his mind to brush Erik’s, a gentle touch to remind him he was there. “Lorna, would you like to sit?” he asked, but the look she gave him said all he needed to know. He sighed. “Very well.” He gestured to Peter and Wanda. “The reason we went to get you is because Peter came to us. He told us that his sister had had a dream that they had an older sister who was in trouble, one so vivid that she went straight after you. She was coming to save you,” he stressed. “Not harm you.”

“But she made us see-“

“They made me!” Wanda pushed, shaking with fear. “I didn’t have a choice!”

Charles held up a hand. “We know, Wanda. Lorna will understand as well once she actually listens,” he comforted. “Now, Lorna.” He turned to address her. “This may be a shock, but they are your half-siblings.”

She eyed them dubiously. “My parents were human,” she said, and Charles’s heart sank at the ‘were’.

Erik finally spoke. “Your mother. What was her name?” he asked hoarsely. 

Lorna narrowed her eyes at him. “Nora, why?”

Erik frowned. “Nora Singer? I don’t remember ever…” he trailed off, glancing at Charles, who rolled his eyes at him.

Lorna sniffed. “Well as far as I know, she was,” she said, then eyed him up and down. “I suppose you’re the one he thinks is my father, huh?”

“Nora and I worked together,” Erik explained. “I do not remember a single time we- Oh.” He stopped, looking down at his hands. “Ah. Never mind.”

Charles chuckled. “Honestly, Erik-“

“I cannot be blamed for skewed memories after all my brain has gone through,” Erik muttered, looking ashamed of himself.

Peter snickered, giving Lorna a sympathetic look. “At least he was married to our mom, apparently.”

Lorna looked at Erik distrustfully. “Is that why I’m a mutant but my father and mother were both human? He was not really my father?” she asked.

Erik shrugged. “Nora was not married when I knew her.”

“Also, humans can have a mutant child,” Charles explained. “Just as mutants can have a human child. My research is still unfinished, but I believe the father carries the mutant gene. I’m fairly sure, humans can carry the gene even if they have no memory of the last mutant in their family tree it has been so long. I still have much to discover, still, however.”

Lorna looked Erik over, staring him down. “I want proof,” she grunted and Charles nodded.

“That can be arranged,” he said politely. “However, for the time being, can I trust you will not try to harm anyone else in this house? Or do I have to lock you away like a prisoner rather than a refugee?” he asked. “I understand this is all quite a shock, but it really is nothing to fear. You are safe here.” She nodded reluctantly and he looked at Wanda and Peter. “I’d like for you both to stay for at least a few days, to be sure that Wanda is well, before you go home to your family. It would be terrible if she were to lose control and hurt your parents or your sister,” he pointed out and Wanda nodded quickly.

“They all know about us, so I’m not scared of them fearing me, but I don’t want to hurt them,” she said softly.

Lorna looked at them closely. “I really have a brother and a sister?” she asked, and Peter perked up.

“Actually-“

Charles’s eyes widened. “Peter n-“

“We’ve all got a baby sister and another one on the way, too!” he said, giggling to himself.

“Peter!” Charles cried, glaring at him. “Perhaps now is not the time-“

“Wait, are you projecting to them?” Peter asked, nodding to Charles’s belly.

“Of course I am!” Charles spluttered. “Honestly, Peter, they’ve both had a very taxing day, it is not the time to try and explain-“

“Butt babies?” Peter said with a smirk and Erik gave him a glare.

“Let Charles speak,” he demanded and Charles groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

Lorna glared at Charles suspiciously. “What are you hiding with illusions? You say we’re safe, but you throw up false visions?” she demanded.

Charles deflated some, shaking his head. “Fine,” he sighed and Erik gave him a worried look.

“Charles-“

“No, they already know enough, I may as well,” Charles said. He leveled Lorna with a warning look. “If you try to do anything, _anything_ that could harm me, even as a kneejerk reaction, I will do whatever I must to stop you,” he promised, and then closed his eyes and dropped the illusion.

Lorna’s eyes widened and she stumbled back some when she saw his very round, very obviously pregnant belly. “What are you?!”

“The mother of two of your half-siblings,” Charles said, holding his head high. Lorna looked at Erik in disgust, and Charles gave her a cold look. “Keep your thoughts to yourself, if you could. This home is a safe place for more than just mutants.” He rubbed at his forehead again. “Erik, can you take them to find somewhere for them? I need to get back to check on the little girls. That telepath is trying to get beyond your helmet and it’s doing my head in.”

Erik gave him a concerned look, laying a hand on his cheek. “Are you alright?” he asked worriedly.

Charles nodded. “I just need to speak to that child. Excuse me,” he said, before leaving the room and its occupants behind.

~

When Charles returned, he found that both the little girls were awake. The telepath was crying where she lay, restrained to a cot, the helmet still on her head. The other little girl was sitting on her cot, knees to her chest, looking at the other girl with fear in her eyes. Charles decided to leave her there with a smile and then go to the telepath. He approached the telepath and she gave him a terrified whimper, trying to pull away. “Please, don’t hurt me,” she cried and Charles shushed her gently. 

“Hello, my name is Professor Charles Xavier,” he introduced, reaching a hand out to rest over hers where it was strapped down. “What is your name, Dear?” he asked gently.

She sniffled. “Please.”

Charles tutted, shaking his head. “Nobody will hurt you here, I promise you.” He nodded to the helmet. “If you promise not to attempt to hurt me or any others in this house, I will remove that. I know how unsettling it is to have your telepathy silenced.” She nodded, still looking distrustful, and he gently removed the helmet. He set it aside with a sigh. “There we are.” He smiled at her. _Is that better now?_

She whimpered, looking at him fearfully. _You’re like me?_ she asked, and Charles couldn’t help a bright smile. When she smiled back, however, she started to project emotions so strongly Charles was struck with the wave and overcome with nausea. He gasped, looking at her fearfully, and immediately her smile fell and she started to panic. “Oh no, oh no, not him, not him!” she cried, and Charles couldn’t even breathe. He gritted his teeth and _pushed_ with all his strength, throwing her reach off of him until he could shield himself again.

She had started to cry and he felt something wet on his own face. When he reached up to feel, however, it was not tears, but _blood_ coming from his nose. “Oh,” he breathed, wiping at his mouth and chin only to find it was _a lot_ of blood.

She struggled against her bonds, looking around until she spotted the other girl. “Go get help! Please!” she begged, and Charles raised a hand to stop the other child, only to have a wave of dizziness overcome him as he realized he was unable to do so. He was so weak and dizzy he could barely draw in breaths. 

He could not speak with his lips, so he projected to her. _I’m going to be alright. But perhaps we should put the funny hat back on?_ he suggested, only to realize he couldn’t raise his hands to untie her only to see the buckles undo themselves. He smiled faintly when he realized she was telekinetic and found the strength to free her own limbs. He closed his eyes as spots began to dance in front of them and reached out further, seeking Erik. 

_It isn’t her fault. She’s just too strong for her age. Help her, do not blame her, Darling,_ he managed, before he slumped over, falling out of his chair and onto the floor. He barely heard the slap of footsteps as the little white-haired girl took off running, screaming for help from Hank, who was just next door.

~

Erik swayed as Charles’s words hit him hard, and then immediately his presence went silent. He was just opening the door to a room for Wanda and Peter when it happened, and he shook off Peter grabbing his elbow to steady him as panic filled his blood with adrenaline. “Charles,” he gasped, shoving past Peter to run towards the infirmary. 

He heard commotion when he got closer, and as he crashed through the doorway, he saw that the little girl had the helmet on her again and she was sobbing violently into Alex’s shirt as he held her and the other little girl while Raven and Hank knelt over Charles, who was lying on the floor. “What happened,” Erik demanded as he fell to his knees, reaching out to grab Charles’s hand and seek a pulse.

Raven looked up at the little girl. “She did it, she-“

“Isn’t to blame,” Erik said quickly, knowing that Charles would not project that to him if it was not important. “She’s just too strong, she can’t help what her powers do,” he stressed. “Hank-“

“Charles is breathing normally, he’s just unconscious.” Hank said quickly, looking into Charles’s eyes, lifting each lid one at a time. “See? He’s gonna be alright.”

Erik looked up at the little girl and stood up, walking around. She looked at him fearfully, pressing closer to Alex, but he just shushed her as he gently took her from Alex, pulling her into his arms. “It’s alright, Dear, I promise,” he said, rubbing her back. “You didn’t mean to hurt Charles, did you?” he asked, and she shook her head, tears streaking her face.

“I was just happy he was like me!” she sobbed, and helmet clunking around when she tried to rub her eyes. “I don’t wanna hurt him.”

Erik nodded. “What’s your name?” he asked gently and she sniffled.

“Jean,” she whispered and he nodded, hugging her until she laid her head on his shoulder, little arms going around his neck. 

“We’re going to leave this helmet on for now, alright? That way you can’t accidentally hurt anybody else.” He rocked her gently. “I promise it’s alright.”

“Is he gonna wake up?” she asked and he closed his eyes, fighting a wave of fear.

“Of course he will,” he answered, hoping to God he wasn’t lying. 

~

When Charles awoke, the first thing he did was shoo the others away and lock himself into the room where they had decided to put Jean and the other girl, who Charles had discovered was named Ororo, for the time being. It hurt him to have to shut away part of Jean’s mutation in her mind, but she really was far too young to control such a strong gift. Charles had never in his life possessed the telepathic strength she had possible and he knew it was far too much for her young mind to handle. He left her telekinesis unbound, since it was far more manageable for her. 

He was utterly exhausted after the day’s events, so he left the others to deal with settling their guests while he went to bed. It was only in the wee hours of the night that he woke for a short moment when Erik climbed into bed. He mumbled in confusion at being jostled, only to have Erik shush him gently and curl an arm around him, resting it on his belly. “Erik?” he asked, and Erik kissed the back of his neck.

“Rest, Charles. You and our little one need it,” he murmured, and Charles smiled as he let his eyes slide shut again.

He rested his hand on Erik’s hand and sighed. “You do too, Darling,” he whispered, falling back asleep, wrapped in Erik’s warmth.

~

Charles was still sleeping off the previous day’s excitement when Erik set about getting everybody dealt with. The two little girls were awake and whispering in their room when Erik checked in on them on his way down to the kitchen with Ada. Jean looked at him and Erik could already tell she looked far brighter without so much of a burden on her as she had before. “Look, Ororo, it’s a baby,” she whispered, and the dark-skinned little girl looked at Ada and Erik closely.

Erik gave them both a smile, shifting Ada so she could face them. “This is my daughter, Ada,” he said, stroking Ada’s thin, auburn hair to one side on her forehead. “I was about to take Ada down for some breakfast. Would you two like to come get something to eat?” he offered.

When he led the two little girls into the kitchen, he wasn’t surprised at all to find the others all there, apart from Charles, Wanda and Peter. Alex and Hank were cooking with Scott looking on while Raven spoke quietly to Lorna. When Ada squealed and called out, “An Ray!” Raven looked up and smiled.

Erik chuckled, taking her to Raven. “Here you go, Aunt Raven it is,” he said, kissing Ada’s head before giving her to Raven.

“Good morning, Ada,” Raven greeted, settling Ada in her lap. She watched as Erik pulled out two of the chairs further along the table for the two little girls, and raised an eyebrow. “Did Charles okay letting them roam free?” she asked and Erik tutted.

“They’re hungry children, of course they’re able to come down to breakfast.” He gave her a stern look and then started to fix the little ones bowls of oatmeal. “Now girls, what do you like in your oatmeal? Honey and cream? Apples and cinnamon?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at them. 

Raven snorted. “It’s hilarious how much of a dad you are in such a short time, Erik. Ada isn’t even a year old and you’re more fatherly than Charles and he’s been trying to be my mother since I was a child.”

Lorna looked at Ada with a strange look. “She’s like the one inside of Xavier now, isn’t she?” she asked, and Erik turned back, giving her a hard stare. “Is she even a mutant?”

Erik shrugged. “She’s a baby. She may be a mutant, may be human. It’s too early to tell.”

Lorna tossed her green hair and raised an eyebrow. “Not always.”

“It doesn’t matter either way,” Hank interjected without turning around. “She’s Charles’s daughter.”

Lorna sneered. “You mean Xavier doesn’t even care if his children are humans?” Erik laughed in surprise, shaking his head as he brought the girls their bowls and floated spoons over to each of them.

“You really are my daughter, aren’t you?” he asked rhetorically before going to get the girls some glasses for juice. “When I was that age, I was full of nothing but rage.”

“You were still full of nothing but rage until a year and a half ago,” Raven accused playfully. Erik sat beside her and offered Ada some baby food, his own coffee sitting beside him. Raven nodded to the two little girls, who were eating with gusto. “How are they?”

Erik smiled. “I think they’ll be alright. We need to find out about their families, where they’re from, if their mothers and fathers are missing them, but as far as traumatized, I think they might be just fine.”

Lorna eyed Erik distrustfully. “Why are children entrusted to a homosexual?” she asked bluntly. 

Erik’s smile slipped and he gave her a measured look, head tilted. “You, Peter, and Wanda are proof I am not a homosexual, but as I’ve currently holding my daughter with Charles, I’d say that’s proof enough God intended a pair of ‘homosexuals’ to be entrusted with children,” he said simply. “Look, I want to get to know you. I want to learn who my firstborn child is,” Erik said, looking her in the eyes. “But if you cannot reconcile the fact I have a family that includes another man, not a woman, perhaps this is not the place for you.” He shook his head. “Because I have reason to believe that I will spend the next fifty years with Charles Xavier, so if you can’t keep your disgust at our family to yourself, you should probably just go.”

Lorna stared at him for a long while, but said nothing else. Raven shrugged when she glanced her way. “You don’t have to like it. Just keep it to yourself. Even if you think it too clearly, you’ll upset my brother by broadcasting your disgust at him.”

Lorna grunted and stood up, taking her coffee with her as she left the room. Erik looked down at Ada and kissed her hair. “Do not worry, Liebling. Papa won’t ever let people say horrible things about you, no matter what they think about me and your daddy,” he whispered, scooping up another spoonful of baby food to give to her. He wanted to know about Lorna, he wanted to learn about his other children, but if they couldn’t accept his family, they did not have to try and make him a part of theirs.

~

When Charles rejoined them all later in the day, he greeted the little ones first, happy to find them both cheerful enough as they played outside with a ball with Scott and Alex. He sat with them on the patio, asking them both about where they had grown up, where the bad people had found them, how long they had been there, and what they knew of the people who took them.

Erik had noticed that Ororo didn’t speak but a very few whispered words, and he could tell from what Charles’s face looked like, whatever he saw in her mind said that she had a very upsetting reason for not speaking.

After their conversation, Erik and Charles went for a walk around the garden, holding hands as they walked in silence at first and spoke after a bit. “I’m sensing it’s may be time for you to begin rebuilding your school, Charles,” Erik said, and Charles chuckled, smiling up at him.

“Which of us is the telepath again?” he asked. He sighed. “Neither of them know who took them. I haven’t spoken to Wanda or Lorna but that’s not for lack of trying. Lorna – who is clearly your offspring – is nothing but a giant bundle of distrustful rage. Wanda is uncomfortable talking to me.”

“What about the little one’s families?” Erik asked, and Charles flinched. “That bad?” Erik asked, brow furrowed.

Charles sighed. “Jean’s name is Jean Grey. Her whole family was killed by a house fire she started herself during a nightmare. She doesn’t know that, obviously, but I saw what happened through her memory,” he explained. “She knocked over a table that had a hot iron on it and it set the curtains on fire and her whole family died apart from her. Before she could even make it into state care, the ‘bad men’ came for her,” he explained. “Neither of them know anything apart form ‘bad men’.”

Erik nodded grimly. “And the other?”

“Her name is Ororo Munroe,” Charles explained. “She was captured in Egypt, of all places.”

Erik raised an eyebrow. “Egypt?”

Charles nodded. “She was born in New York but her family moved to Africa, to Egypt. Just outside of Cairo. A downed jet during the Yom Kippur war from a couple years ago landed on her house,” he explained and Erik’s hand tightened in his reflexively. “She doesn’t speak much, and I believe it is lingering trauma. I’m no psychologist, but I saw in her memories that she was trapped in the rubble with her dead parents’ bodies for hours and hours until the ‘bad men’ came for her.” Charles discreetly wiped at the corner of his eye, staring ahead. “They will stay here, of course.”

“Of course they will,” Erik said strongly. “There is no better place than with you.”

“With us, you mean,” Charles said, looking up at him as they came to a stop. He smiled knowingly. “You’re quite wonderful with them, Darling,” he said and Erik chuckled. “They both wanted to play with Mr. Erik,” he teased.

Erik smiled, looking down at Charles. “Can you have ever imagined all those years ago that I would be paternal?” he asked and Charles grinned.

“You know I always believed in your capacity for love, Erik. It was you who feared you were full of nothing but hate.” The look Charles gave him made Erik’s chest tighten. “You are not without your darkness, but you have so much love in you, especially for children. I am never surprised that you are a wonderful father and, because of that, a wonderful caregiver of our two new students.” 

“Yes to the students?” Erik asked and Charles nodded, smiling secretively.

“I think it’s time we begin looking at prospective subjects for you to teach, Mr. Lehnsherr,” he teased and Erik snorted.

“Me, a teacher. That’s hilarious,” he said, leaning down to peck Charles’s lips sweetly before they once again began walking, continuing on their stroll. 

~

Charles had to wait for Lorna to get through with her tantrum – to have not been raised by him, she reminded him very, very much of Erik Lehnsherr – to sit down with Wanda and Lorna, and when he did, it was hard to focus on their conversation with the way his back was twinging every time he moved. All day he’d felt the repercussions of his possibly unwise decision to seduce Erik into an amorous evening together while they still had the chance amidst so much distraction coming their way. He’d thoroughly enjoyed Erik’s attentions the night before, but now he was paying for the strain he’d put on his back, and it only seemed to get worse as the day progressed.

A particularly bad twinge brought him back to the present and he paid attention to Wanda explaining that she’d gone to the facility after her dream. “When I got there, I didn’t really have any plan, and I was stupid enough to just sort of stand there in the middle of the road and of course, the guards patrolling the grounds saw me and caught me since my powers were suppressed that close to the building,” she said, ducking her head.

Charles tutted. “You were not stupid, Wanda. You were horrified by the thought of a young woman being held by those monsters and you acted rather than thought. It is something we all do. You are no more stupid than any of us here.” He winced as he shifted and cleared his throat. “Now, have you had dreams of this sort before?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Not really. I- I almost think it was something to do with the little girl. Jean. She’s so strong, it’s possible she just _knew_ somehow and projected it far enough that I could feel her. It’s a few hundred miles from my home to that facility, but her telepathy is crazy,” Wanda said with wide eyes.

Charles chuckled. “That is precisely why I have put a block in her mind until she is old enough to learn to control it. I’ve only met one or two other telepaths in my life and none have been stronger than me, but she most definitely is,” he said with a warm smile. “Wanda, dear, can you explain your power to me? I’m afraid I still don’t understand from the bits and pieces I’ve heard.”

Lorna shuddered. “Giving us nightmares,” she accused, and Wanda flinched.

Charles gave her a stern look. “Young lady, please do not harass her for something she could not help. What happened to you was horrible, but she is not to blame,” he chastised.

Wanda nearly hid behind her long hair as she spoke in barely more than a whisper. “I- I make people see things. I alter their perception of reality. They- they see things that aren’t real.” She glanced at Lorna fearfully. “Sometimes- sometimes I can control it. Sometimes I can’t. At the facility they- they did stuff to make it so none of us could really control ourselves. Except the little girl who doesn’t have any yet.”

Charles hummed curiously. “I can alter what people see and experience, but it is a matter of telepathy, not, I think, what you do. I’m very curious to learn more about your powers.” He hesitated. “How much of a rush are you and Peter in to get home?” he asked gently. “Is there any way your mother could be persuaded to allow you both to remain here for a while?”

Wanda shrugged. “I don’t know. If- If she finds out our father is here she may not react so well. I never knew Dad isn’t our real father before Peter met him and things started to click.”

Lorna grunted. “I’m still waiting on my proof any of you are related to me,” she said and Charles laughed incredulously, turning to face her.

“Oh trust me, you are without a doubt his child. You have his powers and his attitude. If Hank’s paternity test comes back to say you are not Erik Lensherr’s biological offspring, I will eat this wheelchair,” he said, tapping the arm of his chair. Wanda giggled and Charles gave her a small smile. “We’ll call your mother after we- ah!” Charles gasped as his twinging back suddenly hit him so strongly it wrapped around his body and he realized, quite suddenly, what was happening.

“Professor?!” Wanda asked, standing half out of her seat.

Charles gritted his teeth, hand raised until the contraction passed, and he then groaned as he pushed away from the desk. “Wanda, my dear, would you mind terribly going to find Hank for me? We need very much to call up our zombie obstetric surgeon, and fast.”

Lorna’s eyes flew wide. “Are you having the baby now?!” she asked, and Charles grimaced.

“I fear I’ve rather mistaken labor pains for something else all day, and now it is very likely someone will have to threaten the poor doctor and nurse into delivering the baby and allow me to alter their memories afterwards, because I doubt by the time they arrive I will be able to convince them that there is nothing odd about delivering a child from a man’s body.”

Wanda stopped halfway out the door and gave him a tentative smile. “Um… I could make them see a lady?” she suggested, and Charles looked up, curious as to whether she was genuinely offering to help him out. She smiled. “You can think about it while I go get Hank,” she said, then turned and ran from the room.

~

Because this time, it was not the middle of the night and Charles did not have time to prepare, Erik wasn’t asleep and out of the way during the birth. Rather, Charles gave him strict instructions to _stay outside_ no matter what lest he overreact and shake the whole house apart if something went wrong.

It was up to Alex and Raven to handle Erik while Wanda and Peter volunteered to watch the children. Lorna sat around outside smoking the occasional cigarette while she watched Erik pace.

After not nearly as long as it should have been, due to Charles’s very distracted mind, Erik was called into the house once more. By the time he arrived, Hank had already seen the doctor and nurse out, so the only person in the room was Charles and the new baby. Erik had tears in his eyes as he carefully settled on the bed beside where Charles sat, holding a tiny infant in his arms. Charles smiled up at him, positively glowing for someone who had just been cut open to have a baby removed. “Congratulations, Papa. Yet another girl,” he said, and Erik could barely stop from crying as he reached out to gently touch their new daughter’s cheek. Charles leaned his head against Erik’s side as Erik gently curled his arm around Charles. “You have four daughters and one son, who came at the same time as one of the daughters. I would say your mutant sperm have a trend to them,” Charles joked and Erik laughed softly, pressing his lips to Charles’s forehead and leaving them for a bit. 

“Discovering I have grown up children does nothing to change how much I love our children, Charles,” he whispered vehemently. “Our babies are our miracles. Nothing can lessen how incredibly wonderful you and our children are.”

Charles sighed, smiling up at him. “Oh Erik.” He shook his head. “Never once have I imagined for a moment that finding your children besides ours would make you love the ones I bear any less. Love knows no limits, My Friend. Especially when it is your love.”

Erik reached out and took the hand of his daughter, smiling wetly when she whimpered and gripped his fingertip in her tiny hand. “For the longest time, Charles, you were my heart. Now, I have two who hold more of my heart than even you. And who knows, with time, perhaps I will come to love my other children the same.”

Charles grinned. “Your heart is growing rather rapidly, Erik. If you are not careful, you will lose every scary thing about you,” he teased. He smiled down at the baby, sighing as he touched her utterly bald little head. “Ada was born with a head full of her papa’s hair and she is bald. I hope that isn’t a premonition for my future,” he joked.

Erik chuckled, touching her bald little head. “What will we call her?” he asked and Charles hummed.

“How about… Emily?” Charles suggested and Erik beamed.

“Emily. That’s beautiful,” he whispered, looking down at the baby. “Do you like it, Liebling?” Charles grinned up at him and Erik gave him a confused smile. “What?”

Charles nudged him. “Say her name again,” he asked and Erik frowned but chuckled.

“Emily?” Charles lit up and Erik raised an eyebrow. “Are you alright, Charles?” he asked and Charles just sighed with a warm, loving smile.

“I love that name in your accent,” Charles said with a sign. “I’m going to smile like a loon every time you say our daughter’s name for the rest of my life, now.”

Erik chuckled and leaned in to press a kiss to Charles’s forehead. “Good.” He pulled back and met his eyes. “You smiling is never a bad thing.”

~

**Epilogue**

They couldn’t manage to discover who took the children or why, but they vowed – Erik especially – to never stop fighting to find the monsters who hurt those children. There would always be a lot of people trying to capture mutants and they vowed to find them all any way they could. 

Peter and Wanda went home to their mother only a few days after Emily was born, but within six months, the newly revised Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters reopened and they both returned at their mother’s insistence that they learn to better control their gifts. Though they were older than the little ones, they both still stood to benefit from the education they were offered as well. 

Lorna came and went. Every single time she visited, she warmed up to Erik a bit more, but never stuck around for long. Just long enough for Erik to question Charles how the hell he ever put up with him when he was that hardheaded and angry all the time.

Jean and Ororo were joined by four other students around the same age by the time they got the school up and running. Charles was tasked with teaching them most subjects himself, but he did begin searching for mutant teachers with Cerebro. Erik insisted, as he really hated being the one stuck teaching literature and languages since Charles was rubbish at the less rigid and fact-based subjects.

And just before Christmas, with Ada several months from two and Emily only nine months old, the school only one semester into its new iteration, Charles came to visit Hank with a sheepish grin, a request that was becoming far too common, and a green tinge to his skin.

Charles didn’t even get a chance to open his mouth as he rolled up beside where Erik sat at his desk before Hank walked through the door bearing a bag from the store in town. Erik frowned. “What’s tha-“

“Seriously. There are instructions on the box. Learn to use them!” Hank said, unceremoniously dumping the contents of the bag onto Erik’s desk before turning to walk out without waiting for a reply.

Erik picked up the box of condoms and then raised an eyebrow at Charles, who just laughed, his blue eyes sparkling beautifully. “Well, my darling, I guess Hank beat me to my announcement,” he said, and Erik frowned for a moment before his eyes flew wide. He looked down at Charles’s middle and Charles nodded, beaming. “Yes.”

“Again?” Erik asked, and Charles chuckled, reaching out to take the box of condoms out of Erik’s hand.

He grinned as he shook the box. “Perhaps after this one arrives, we should probably make use of these,” he suggested and Erik cringed.

“Definitely. We’re getting far too old for a dozen children, Charles.”

Charles laughed, reaching out to cup Erik’s cheek. “I entirely agree,” he whispered just before meeting Erik’s lips in a sweet kiss.

Erik hummed. “Three is just fine, though,” he reassured, sharing a happy smile with Charles before allowing him to drag him into another, more celebratory kiss this time.


End file.
